LGBT+ Celebrity 2015

In alphabetical order

This category recognises LGBT+ ceebrities who have come outin the face of adversity or who support the LGBT+ community in a positive way.
Past winners: Stephen Fry, Alan Carr, Graham Norton

Dustin Lance Black

Dustin Lance Black is an American screenwriter, director, film and television producer and LGBT rights activist. He won a Writers Guild of America Award and an Oscar for the 2008 film, Milk. Dustin has written and directed many screenplays. He first achieved mainstream success with HBO series, Big Love, starring Bill Paxton, Ginnifer Goodwin, Amanda Seyfried, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloë Sevigny as a Mormon family from Utah that practises polygamy.

Anthony Cotton

Antony Cotton is an English actor, best known for his roles in Coronation Street and Queer as Folk. In 2007, Antony won the second series of Soapstar Superstar, donating his £200,000 prize money to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2013, he won Let’s Dance for Comic Relief. Antony has been outspoken on gay rights, slamming Sainsbury’s on Twitter for covering up the front pages of gay magazines, and was a strong supporter of gay marriage.

Rylan Clark

Rylan Clark is a British presenter, television personality, singer and model. He rose to fame on the ninth series of the X Factor, where he finished fifth. In 2012, he won Celebrity Big Brother. In 2013, Rylan joined Big Brother’s Bit on the Side as a co-host and has had several presenting roles on Daybreak and This Morning. Rylan has recently revealed that he and boyfriend Dan Neal are planning to marry.

Alan Carr

Alan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Alan made his breakthrough was in 2001, winning the City Life Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Award. He went on to host The Friday Night Project with Justin Lee Collins, before becoming the host of his own comedy chat show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, in 2009. Alan has won several awards, including Best Entertainment Personality at the British Comedy Awards.

Ellen Page

Ellen Page is a Canadian actress who rose to fame in the film, Juno, in 2007. Page has won more than 30 awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA for Juno. Ellen came out as gay in a speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s, “Time to Thrive” conference. She has been a strong advocate for gay rights and in 2014, was included as part of the Advocate’s annual “40 Under 40” list. Ellen is currently filming a gay civil rights drama, Freeheld.

Derren Brown

Derren Brown is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions, and British television series, such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat. Derren came out as gay in 2007, in an interview with The Independent. On coming out, he said,“It’s so important to come out, because for those of us lucky to be in this part of the world it is usually such a non-event, but feels such a disproportionately huge event when you’re not out.”

Heather Peace

Heather Peace is a English actress, musician, and director. She is a patron of Manchester Pride, and has recorded a video for Stonewall’s It Gets Better campaign. Heather is involved in a number of charities, including Diversity Role Models and The Albert Kennedy Trust. In 2010, she was number 40 on the Independent on Sunday ‘ s Pink List, but shot to number 10 in 2011. She was also voted number 18 on US website afterellen.com’s 2011 Hot 100 list.

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox is an American actress, reality television star, television producer, and LGBT advocate, best known for her portrayal of Sophia Burset on the Netflix television series, Orange Is the New Black, for which she became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award in the acting category, and the first to be nominated for an Emmy Award since composer/ musician Angela Morley in 1990. In April 2014, Cox was honoured by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) with its Stephen F Kolzak award for her work as an advocate for the transgender community.